As more and more riders find themselves pulled by the lull of adventure in big mountains, new bikepacking races and events are popping up across the country. The California Sierra Trail Race is a self-supported monster and one of the few that makes a loop back to its starting point, in this case Auburn, California. While it might make the logistics of participating a bit easier, the ride is anything but: 430 miles and 70,000 feet of climbing along old roads and singletrack in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

This short film by Aaron Johnson gives some background on how the route came together and follows the second running of the race in July 2014, when only four men lined up at the starting line. Will you be there this year?